Badlands
"Badlands" is the eight episode of Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders. It is a character development episode for Fallon. Its international titles include Catalan "Les terres ermes", German "Der Streit", French "La Réconciliation", Portuguese "Terras más", Russian "Страшное место", Serbo-Croat "Pustinja", and Spanish "Los páramos". The girls are on a mission to escort a caravan that includes Fallon's parents who disapprove of her being a Jewel Rider. To do this, they must cross a dangerous canyon of Wizard's Pass and fend off a band of evil Outlaws led by Lady Kale. Plot summary Riding Moondance, Fallon wins a race against the Pack in the Great Forests by taking a leap over dead man's bluff, which was not on the route. King Jared, however, decides that this is proof of Fallon's courage and skill. Before Fallon can compete in the other field games, Tamara informs her that Princess Gwenevere invited them to accompany her on a trip to Castle Greenwood for Lady Robbins' baby naming ceremony. This makes Fallon angry as she prefers outdoor activities to social functions. The very annoyed Fallon storms the Princess' room to give her a piece of her mind, and this does not turn out well. Fallon argues that she is no good at social activities and even questions Queen Anya's judgement, and she and Gwen get really mad at each other. Meanwhile, Tamara and the babies sit awkwardly in the bath listening to all this. So the Jewel Riders ride out to the titular Badlands, where they join Dennan's caravan headed for Castle Greenwood. There turns out to be some very special travelers in this caravan: Fallon's parents Alfred and Winerva. At night, at a camping site, Gwen tries to set up a meeting between Fallon and Winerva, but this does not go very well and Fallon hates Gwen for this. It turns out that she has not seen her parents in years, she never talks about them, and her relationship with them is quite poor. After yet another fight, she spends her night outside with Moondance, who she believes is the only one who truly understands her. The next day in Badlands, Lady Kale and the bandit leader Civello meet up to plan a raid on the caravan at the canyon of Wizard's Pass. Kale wants to capture Gwen unharmed and warns the overconfident Civello, who wants to just loot the wagons for booty, not to underestimate the Jewel Riders. Meanwhile, we learn why Fallon is pissed at her parents: they refused to go to her Friendship Ring ceremony. Her parents also do not seem to understand that Moondance is Fallon's friend, not just a creature she is bonded to. All of sudden, the Outlaws ambush the caravan. Gwen blasts some incoming arrows and learns a spell to cast a power shield, while Fallon's magic is directing at rappelling ropes and turns them into snakes. The attackers are routed. Fallon's parents start to accept that Fallon is actually good at being a Jewel Rider. They start asking Fallon questions about Jewel Armor and riding the Wild Magic. It is also revealed that Winerva wanted to go to Fallon's Friendship Circle ceremony, but Alfred did not let her go. Then Lady Kale gets involved as she blasts some rocks into the caravan's escape way, causing them to backtrack to a different route. Fallon warns Gwen and Sunstar in time before Kale can capture them, and Kale goes after Fallon when Moondance insults Grimm to stop. Fallon then stalls Kale's pursuit by creating an illusion of dead end in the canyon. Suddenly, Gwen and Sunstar are captured by the Outlaws when they fly into a net trap. The Outlaws plan on ransoming the Princess, but Lady Kale arrives and steals their catch away. Kale tells Gwen she wants the Merlin's key. Fallon races after then and bravely leaps onto the Dragon Wagon to help Gwen escape. Gwen and Sunstar fly down safely, while Fallon in a desperation move uses her Moon Stone to cast a magic shield to cushion her fall, in which she is helped by the Sun Stone. After Fallon hits the ground safely, Kale decides to fly back to her castle. At the naming ceremony, Fallon's parents accept that their daughter is a Jewel Rider, Gwen and Fallon apologize to each other. Fallon ends up getting dance requests from all the men, while Gwen is stuck dancing with Archie. Behind the scenes Original script Avalon: Web of Magic connections * This episode is basically Ghost Wolf. In that book, Adriane confronts her parents about staying in Ravenswood, and her mother gradually accepts that Adriane has a connection to magic. Fallon's exchange with Gwen from the end of the episode is even said word-for-word at the end of the book. * More Fallon / Adriane comparisons: both characters have parents who are traveling artists. Adriane also occasionally sculpts; Fallon used to sculpt, but doesn’t have time for it now. Media Images File:08-01.png File:08-02.png Videos See also * List of episodes External links * Original script (pdf) * The Avalon Archive recap and analysis Category:Episodes Category:First season